What drew you to the scientific field?

I’ve always had a desire to do practical things; at graduate school in Indiana, my interest was in environmental analysis – specifically, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in air pollution, and from tobacco and marijuana smoke. I also like to build things – I’m kind of a ‘gadgeteer’. I like to see things mechanically, see electronics put together and become useful. One of the first things I did as a graduate student in Milos Novotny’s laboratory was design and build a capillary column injector for the gas chromatographs we were using. I have a tendency to get bored with repetition, and enjoy having more variety – going into the field and lab, writing papers, giving talks. I’ve always insisted on having my office right next to the laboratory so I have easy access to what my team is doing.